pitch unfairly

Cheat Codes · Team and culture

Ford Motor Company, 1914. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

Double the pay. Cut the day. Watch what happens. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

Template: All-hands

  • $5 a day
  • 8 hours
  • Jan 1914
Play the 2026 deck Read the real story Steal the structure
1914 All-hands

Ford Motor Company

Double the pay. Cut the day. Watch what happens.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

The story→12 slides

It's a live deck. Press start, then scroll or use the arrow keys, or play it full screen.

Play the 2026 deck

Ford Motor Company's all-hands, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 1: Five dollars. Eight hours. Starting the 12th. 01Five dollars. Eight hours. Starting the 12th.
  2. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 2: In 1913 the line moved. 12.5 hours became 93 minutes. 02In 1913 the line moved. 12.5 hours became 93 minutes.
  3. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 3: We hired 52,000 men last year to keep about 14,000. 03We hired 52,000 men last year to keep about 14,000.
  4. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 4: From the 12th, the minimum day pays five dollars. 04From the 12th, the minimum day pays five dollars.
  5. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 5: Per hour, your pay goes up 2.4 times. 05Per hour, your pay goes up 2.4 times.
  6. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 6: Three shifts of eight. The line never stops. 06Three shifts of eight. The line never stops.
  7. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 7: This is not charity. Turnover costs more. 07This is not charity. Turnover costs more.
  8. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 8: The $5 is a profit share. It comes with a home visit. 08The $5 is a profit share. It comes with a home visit.
  9. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 9: The car stays. The line stays. The pace stays. 09The car stays. The line stays. The pace stays.
  10. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 10: Six questions you were going to ask. Six short answers. 10Six questions you were going to ask. Six short answers.
  11. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 11: Monday the 12th, three shifts start. Hiring is closed. 11Monday the 12th, three shifts start. Hiring is closed.
  12. Ford Motor Company deck, slide 12: Thank you. Go home on time. 12Thank you. Go home on time.

Then · 1914

How it really went

Read the real storythe press release of January 5, 1914, at The Henry Ford
  1. 1913: the moving assembly line cuts a Model T chassis from about 12.5 hours to 93 minutes
  2. Turnover hits about 370%: some 52,000 hired to keep about 14,000
  3. Jan 5, 1914: Henry Ford and James Couzens announce the $5 day to the press
  4. Pay goes from $2.34 for nine hours to $5 for eight
  5. Two nine-hour shifts become three eight-hour shifts
  6. The fine print: $2.34 plus a profit share, for men over 22 with six months on the payroll
  7. The Sociological Department starts unannounced home visits
  8. Up to 15,000 job seekers mass at the Highland Park gate all week
  9. Jan 12: the plan starts, and the crowd is turned back with fire hoses in nine-degree cold

Now · 2026 · 12 slides

What we changed

  • The line moves on the slideFive chassis roll down a belt, gaining axles, engine and wheels, while a timer drops from 12 h 30 m to 1 h 33 m. Press Stationary to watch it go back to 1912.
  • Turnover is a leaking bucketIt fills with 52,000 hires, drains through four holes, and settles at the 14,000 who stayed. 370% gets a picture.
  • Your pay, your weeksA calculator puts the old day ($2.34, 26 cents an hour) next to the new one ($5, 62.5 cents) and adds up what a man takes home and the hours he gets back.
  • The strings, said plainlyA Sociological Department form ticks off age, service, a clean house and regular savings, then stamps it. The FAQ answers the awkward questions in one line each.

Steal the structure

Build your all-hands like Ford Motor Company did.

  1. 01 Cover The change in three facts people will repeat: the money, the hours, the date.
  2. 02 What happened The last period in one picture, so everyone starts from the same place.
  3. 03 The broken number One metric that is failing, shown so nobody can argue with it.
  4. 04 The decision The new policy as one number at poster size, with what it replaces.
  5. 05 What changes for you: pay Let each person work out their own number before they ask.
  6. 06 What changes for you: time Schedules, shifts or process, before and after, on one scale.
  7. 07 Why we are doing it The real business reason, with its cost. People can tell when it is charity theater.
  8. 08 What we expect Eligibility and conditions, stated plainly, before they find the fine print.
  9. 09 What is not changing Name what stays, so the room stops guessing.
  10. 10 FAQ The awkward questions, answered in one line each.
  11. 11 What is next Dates, owners, and what to tell people outside the company.
  12. 12 Thank you Thanks plus one thing everyone can do today.

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